FINA World Open Water Championships: Pre-Press Conference Coverage

By Steven Munatones, Swimming World Special Correspondent

SEVILLE, Spain, April 30. AT today's FINA World Open Water Championships press conference in the historic Seville City Hall, Nory Krutchen, the FINA Bureau Vice President, predicted that the championships will be exciting, especially for the 10K swimmers who will be qualifying for the Olympic 10K Marathon swim.

"Now all five FINA disciplines are in the Olympics for the first time," Krutchen said. "The course in Seville is the exact same course as in Beijing – a rowing basin with flat, clean, protected waters."

"Everything is looking good and everything is in place for a great competition," Sid Cassidy, the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee chairman concurred.

Coaches from all five continents appeared equally confident that their swimmers will qualify for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim either by finishing in the top 10 or as five of the continental representatives.

The weather is forecasted to be mostly sunny and dry with only very slight winds. Water temperatures in the Guadalquivir River ranged from 72 to 74 degrees depending on the depth of the water.

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